HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Home fires
After almost eighteen months of desert dwelling, MB got to make the trek home.
Ireland in late May is a joy. Blue skies. Fluffy clouds. More than the average smattering of sunshine. Forty shades of green. Crazy calves and frollicking foals. Wild deer in the woods (too fast to focus the lens). Foxy foxes. Rabbits rabbiting. Broken bird-eggs on the farmshed floors. Hatchlings screeching for food. Birth. And rebirth. Swallows aerial acrobatics. Sitting on the stone bridge. River running.
The world, and Ireland, keeps on turning.
Lock-up natives informed MB, they would, henceforth, travel more. To see and explore places unseen, before they meet their maker. “I don’t want to be the richest man in the graveyard”, said one.
Kids are back outdoors for gaelic football, hurling and soccer training. It’s been roughest on the kids, MB thinks. Not natural for kids to live in chicken coops. The uncooping has thankfully begun.
Mom of MB (MOMB) gets younger by the day. Soon, very soon, MB is of the opinion that he and MOMB will pass each other; MB advancing into his elderly years and MOMB time-traveling in the opposite direction. Maybe it’s already happening. Her SUV driving skills, day or night, and general vitality et al, belies her 90 years on the spinning planet. An example to her kids. And to the wider world.
And then MB met with extended family member T, and wife R.
Just over two years ago, T was leading the normal life of many a middle-aged Irishman. Games of golf. Watching the horses race. A full and happy life. And then, out of the blue, the world turned to night. In the space of six or so weeks, T lost his eyesight. Completely. He now only has a sense of day and night. Nothing more. No shapes. No colours. Nothing. Just various shades of darkness.
Except for his spirit, which shines very brightly. T still works (on the phone) and plays golf, with some assistance from R. MB joked he could make it easier to find the ball if he just blasted each shot straight down the middle! Like MB. NOT!!!
T told MB he likes to go on trips to places that he has seen and enjoyed in the past. When he revisits those same places, he has a sense of place. He can visualise the streets and the shops and the bars and more. Familiarity equals comfort equals a peaceful mind. Places unseen hold no appeal. They were unknown in the past and can not now become known.
The chat with T made MB think a lot. And appreciate far more what he normally takes for granted.
So.
Where to go and what to do from now on?
Just make the most of it, MB guesses.
HX Report 
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MB you also inspired us with your travels and knowledge and above all your sense of belonging to the auld sod. The world is fastly changing, I heard you speak 3 languages while we met in just one hour. Can’t imagine what language you used though when speaking to an information centre as you pressed 1 ,2 and 3
Come home again. R and T thanks
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